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Re: Will Hamilton Start Friday???

Originally Posted by M2

To give Tampa Bay credit, they had him for eight years and he showed nothing in rookie ball last year. That he's been able to completely remake his game without the benefit of playing is astounding. There's no point in looking to baseball for precedents. He's a mix of Bernard Malamud, O Henry, Horatio Alger, Arthur C. Clarke and Roger Zelazny.

The D-Rays had no way of knowing he'd enter the realm of living narrative. Where the story goes is anyone's guess. He could be a star or his bubble could burst. Yet Tampa Bay's loaded with prospects it had to keep on the 40-man roster and what Hamilton's done the past two months is surreal. If anything, it's yet another indication that the universe exists to mock the Devil Rays.

I don't doubt that any of this is true, but I suppose the astounding part of this story, for me, is that he was made available in the Rule 5 draft. It's not that the Rays lost him, it's that they literally gave him away.

That Hamilton's even playing at the major league level--much less having some degree of success doing it--is certainly an unheard of story. It's exceptional. Still, the talent had always been there, and with Hamilton's newfound focus on taking advantage of his "last chance", I would have thought the Rays would have at least been the team to give him that chance. After all, they had invested so much into him.

Re: Will Hamilton Start Friday???

With the roster the Rays have, I wouldn't take a chance on Josh Hamilton. Everybody's surprised at how well he's doing, which means nobody thought he would come back. And as much as I love Hamilton, I'm not willing to say he's worth it just yet, becuase he could go Deion Sanders on us tomorrow.

And if I'm Tampa Bay- an outfield of Delmon Young, Carl Crawford, and Baldelli or Dukes isn't anything to be ashamed of.

Re: Will Hamilton Start Friday???

Originally Posted by Dom Heffner

And as much as I love Hamilton, I'm not willing to say he's worth it just yet, becuase he could go Deion Sanders on us tomorrow.

But that's kind of my point. You're not ready to say Hamilton is "worth it"--but what is "it"? He's earning the league minimum and taking up a roster space, and if he goes Prime Time on us he can be jettisoned back to the Rays for $50 grand. That's nothing.

Sure, the Rays have a fine outfield, and perhaps there was no place for Hamilton there. It's the fact that he was left exposed to the Draft, where he could be lost for literally nothing, that surprised me. When you have to pay nothing, why not take a flyer on him? I'm sure that was the Reds thinking. And as for the Rays, like I said they had invested millions in the kid, not to mention countless coaching hours and otherwise--you'd think they'd appreciate some degree of return on their investment, even if it was only a couple of low-level prospects. Instead they got nada.

Undoubtedly, Hamilton's level of play thus far is making Tampa's decision seem much worse; but I had these thoughts from the moment the Reds claimed him in the draft. A player with these tools--even one who to that point had shown no signs of ever fully utilizing them--would surely be worth *something*.

Re: Will Hamilton Start Friday???

And as for the Rays, like I said they had invested millions in the kid, not to mention countless coaching hours and otherwise--you'd think they'd appreciate some degree of return on their investment, even if it was only a couple of low-level prospects. Instead they got nada.

I haven't followed the saga as closely as you guys have, but I'm guessing the thinking is this: if you've already put in millions, and you have one of the best young outlfields in baseball as it is, why not cut your losses?

It's much easier for a team who has nothing vested in him but a roster spot to give him a chance than a team like the Rays who have a farm system that is filthy rich with talent and an offense that stacks up against anybody's.

I like Hamilton as a chance pick up rather than a long term investment that got off to the start he did here.

But in hindsight, sure, the Rays made a mistake so far, and I'm pretty happy they did, even though I'm really starting to like the Rays.

Re: Will Hamilton Start Friday???

ESPN ran a piece last night on Hamilton, not sure exactly when it was shot, but all the footage they showed of him was still in Rays gear. I came in after the intro to it so I'm sure I probably missed where they said what a hot spring he was off to for the REDS but if I didn't know any better I would have thought he still played for Tampa based on the clips.

Why can't the worldwide leader get a couple recent video clips to attach to the story? I know it's nit-picky but it irritated me...

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